How can academy lads be told contracts terminated and free agents and first team but u16 kids are staying? I don't get it

The U16 kids are redundant too (the one I was talking to earlier confirmed it). The meeting was in the interests of helping them out and looking after their futures. Exactly what the RFL should be doing.

But at meeting tonight they said academy was staying yet 5 of my mates in the 19's were binned off yesterday while Wigan and Warrington are fighting over Cameron Scott, only ones not free agents are scholarship kids it seems

If I remember rightly the RFL did not have a very good opunion of Salfords academy when the gradings were published

An interview with John Bastian is in the guardian tomorrow. Will certainly be worth a read i reckon.

Gut wrenching all that hard work gone..im in rage mode again!

I texted John on the day and he was devastated. The man's an inspiration. I hope he's ok. Any club would be lucky to have him.

Looking at the BullBuilder email things look a bit more positive about an academy being part of any new club. Finger crossed.

If John Bastian was somehow re-hired, that would be a massive boost to fans. It certainly would to me. Getting him back on board would be better than getting a Kieren Moss, Dane Chisholm or even Rohan Smith for me.

Yeah I'd pretty much go along with that.

Me too, I continue to exist on the very faint hope that behind the scenes there is more agreed between the parties and the RFL than they're letting on, but I'm still in a place where if everything's actually gone for good, and in particular Bastian and the Academy setup, then that would be me done with it. All that is presently left is the fragments from the nuclear explosion, but even those are being picked off. Each passing day with nothing announced seems to me suicidal if there is actually a man with a plan. WTF is he doing and why?

Is their a link to that, I can't find the article

The hiring of John Bastian completely sold me on the whole Green era.

Me too. My meetings with him for BullBuilder things were great. Despite everything that was going wrong with the first team under Lowes and all the rumour and intrigue that was floating around about Ferres and Green the atmosphere amongst the youth side of things was spot on. Mark and Leigh are both great blokes and totally professional. The class of the setup was there for all to see. I used to come away feeling really positive. You could see the end product on the field too with more lads coming through. The links with community clubs in Bradford were better than they’d been in decades. I just hope some of that hard work can be salvaged.